Sightings
by Itsthegilmoregirls
Summary: It's a year and a half later. A lot has changed. Rogan, oneshot :)


**This is just a little one-shot that I've been thinking of for awhile now. :) It's Rogan of course and takes place about a year and a half after the series ended. The only AU part is the part about the Hayden family business being in PR. I believe Straub was in law, but I needed to find a profession that allowed for some of the events in this story.**

**I'm just adding little pieces here and there to make it a little longer.**

**Disclaimer: I, obviously, do not own Gilmore Girls.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

He froze. It couldn't be. There was no way.

But there she was.

Her brown hair was long again, curls whipping in the crisp Autumn wind. Her blue eyes were scrunched up as she examined the newspaper in front of her, only pausing to scribble something in a notebook or take a sip of the coffee that was sitting next to her.

There she was. In the flesh. And she was gorgeous.

He didn't know what to do. Was he supposed to call out to her? Pretend like nothing was wrong?

Was he supposed to walk away and pretend like he hadn't laid eyes on her? Forget that the girl who haunted his dreams for the past year was sitting there, mere feet away?

What was she even doing in Palo Alto?

Last he heard she was trotting the globe, or well, the country, following the campaign trail.

Why was she here? He had no idea. He didn't know if he wanted to find out.

She couldn't be here for him, could she? _No,_ he thought, if she was here for him, some form of communication would have already occurred. He hadn't changed any numbers. He was entirely reachable.

Yet he couldn't help but notice how _right_ this situation looked. She looked like she belonged in that little café. She was just sitting there, sipping her coffee like nothing was out of the ordinary. Perhaps for her, this _was_ ordinary.

She was here. In Palo Alto. Right in front of his very eyes.

Panicking, he jogged away, resuming his exercise routine. He couldn't deal with that. Not now. Maybe not ever.

* * *

After completing her job on the trail, Rory had moved back to Connecticut, trying to decide what her next move would be. She hadn't liked life on the road. She was too far away from everything she knew and loved; the constant moving prevented her from becoming attached to anything. She didn't know what she wanted to do next, so she decided to take some time off and head back to the east coast. Then, the unthinkable happened. Francine Hayden paid a visit to Stars Hollow.

The death of Straub Hayden a few years back had come as a bit of a shock to the family. Considering Rory had only met the man twice, neither time on good terms with her paternal grandfather, she had felt a strange sense of disconnect from his passing. She did, however, feel for her father who, although absent many years in her youth, was truly making an effort now. Even after her parents divorce Christopher stayed in constant communication with Rory, often flying to see her on the trail.

He had taken over the family business, so to speak. Rory was proud of his newfound responsibility. Gigi needed a father, and a good one at that, considering her mother's departure.

But anyways, one fateful December day, Francine Hayden paid a little visit to the Gilmore home.

It was unexpected to say the least; Francine had vocalized her disdain for both of the Lorelais multiple times in the past. But this visit was unlike the last unpleasant meeting between Rory and her grandmother. This time, Francine had come to make amends. After two illegitimate grandchildren, Francine had decided that there was no avoiding the fact that Rory was _not_ the reason for her son's initial failures. Being Francine Hayden she would never admit this outright, but through some carefully chosen words, the elder Hayden had apologized in her own special way.

That was also the night that Rory found out that in his will, Straub had left everything, minus the odd little bequest, first to Francine, and then on her passing, to Lorelai Leigh Gilmore III. It was a startling realization that shocked Rory. It meant that the entire Hayden PR firm was going to be hers one day.

Francine had no interest in running her late husband's company so, for the time being, Christopher had been stepping in. He too was mentioned in the will and left with a sizable sum of money for himself and Gigi. He was fine with this. He was more than able to take care of himself and his youngest daughter financially and he wanted nothing more than for Rory to be able to live in the comfort that he hadn't been able to provide for her in those early years.

But this came with a catch. It meant that Rory had to set aside her journalistic aspirations and become versed in the family biz. And she wasn't sure how ready she was for that. She knew what the forced lifestyles of her friends had done to them, and despite how much she wanted to help her family, she didn't know if she could handle it.

After many, many long conversations with all of the important people in her life, Rory came to the conclusion that she would take the job for a "trial period" of sorts before making a final decision as to whether or not she was ready to give up her dreams.

So it was decided that she would run the newer, slightly less complicated, branch of the firm on the West Coast while Chris maintained the central offices back East. She would attend business and communications classes at Stanford University as well in order to advance her education on the subject matter. The university had been more than willing to let her take a few courses and even get a degree if she wished. She would do just that.

Just like that she put her journalistic aspirations on pause, venturing into the vast unknown. She didn't know where to even begin.

The minute the subject of moving to the West Coast, and Palo Alto nonetheless, was brought up, all Rory could think about was Logan and what he would be doing. What he was thinking. And what he would think of all of this.

* * *

She missed journalism, but she was slowly falling in love with the world of Public Relations as well. Her classes at Stanford were going remarkably well. Her professors were entertaining and enlightening, although the workload was intense. Her co-workers in the office helped ease her way into things, some giving her little hints or constructive criticism. She was grateful for the select few who were unafraid to share their honest opinions when asked. She needed that honesty in her life.

Fitting a course load at Stanford and a full time job into her already busy lifestyle was hard—she wouldn't lie. But if there was one thing Rory Gilmore didn't do, it was to back down from a challenge. This was a new chapter in her life. She found herself embracing it.

She had only been there a couple of months when she saw him. Or she thought it was him. She was sitting at her favorite table in this little cafe, reading the paper and drinking her favorite beverage. She was intently focused on taking notes for one of her business classes when she noticed a familiar head of blonde hair on the street a little ways away. Her heart rate quickened. She knew it was possible that she would run into him. She thought she was prepared for it. But when faced with the real thing? Maybe not so much.

She didn't let the possibility of Logan Huntzberger being mere feet away from her interrupt her routine. In fact, she didn't even know if it was him. If it was, she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much his presence unnerved her.

She had thought long and hard about the possibility of running into him here. She knew bid business was doing well; it was quickly capturing the attention of many a Silicon Valley CEO. It's success was so well known that it was written about in several papers; all titles included the phrase "young Huntzberger." Rory guessed that this was what he wanted; a name for himself. Naturally the comparison was still drawn between Mitchum and Logan, but the emphasis of the article was on Logan's success as a separate entity. She couldn't help but smile s sadly at these pieces. She was so proud of him and truly glad he was doing well on his own, but this was the future that he had picked for the two of them together. It easily could have been her future. Their future.

But in the end, her remorse for decisions long since set in stone had to be forgotten. She wouldn't let the thought of Logan keep her from doing the things that she knew she had to do. Running this new business was one of them. It had taken a lot of convincing and a couple pro/con lists, but she was resolved.

Or at least she thought she had been; seeing him standing there, yeah that was a different story. She didn't change her movements, but she couldn't help glancing at him in her peripheral vision. He was just standing there, obviously shocked to see her. She couldn't help but gulp nervously, masking it by reaching out and taking another sip of coffee. She wanted to see what his next move would be. If he was going to ignore her, so be it. If he wanted to talk…well she wasn't opposed to that idea either. Rory watched him put his ear bud back in his ear and jog away. _So there it was. That's how it was going to be._

A week went by without any word between the two of them. No awkward run-ins at the local Starbucks, no drunken phone calls or any other sort of contact. Nothing.

But the golden, and rather awkward, silence was soon broken.

A month or two into the trail, Rory picked up a habit that was, altogether, the most unexpected hobby a Gilmore girl could have. She picked up jogging. Starting out with power walks and eventually shifting into actual running, Rory remembered the long days and nights alone with nothing but those awful thoughts clouding her mind. Running was a way to escape all of that. To let everything go. Lorelai had been horrified of course. After all, Gilmore girls did not exercise. It was right up there with eating "green things." But she had found a simple comfort in the feeling of the pavement underneath her feet and the music blasting through her iPod.

She was out for a run one morning when she, quite literally, ran into someone. Rory had been switching the song on her iPod, the momentary lack of attention causing her to slam into an unsuspecting pedestrian.

"Oh gosh I'm sorry!" She responded quickly, not noticing who it was.

"Well our first meeting wasn't exactly cliché so I guess we had to have one of those strange movie moments at some point. Rachel McAdams would be proud."

Her head snapped up to find a smirking Logan Huntzberger staring at her.

"Logan?"

"Rory." It was a statement. It was him accepting the facts.

"What…what are you doing here?"

"Well see I suppose I could ask you the same question now couldn't I? And I'm pretty sure you already know my answer."

"I asked you first?"

"I work here. I have for the last year. Your turn."

"I work here. And I go to school at Stanford. I have for the last two months."

"You work here?"

"Yeah. I'm running the West Coast offices of Hayden Communications as kind of a trial run thing."

"PR? What happened to journalism?"

"It's a long story. Family obligations I guess you could say."

"Ah. I see."

"Yeah…"

The two awkwardly looked away from each other, each trying to figure out what to say next. There was so much to say, but neither wanted to say it.

"Well."

"Well."

"So." She rolled her eyes, flashing back to a previous conversation that had started in a similar manner. But this time, he kept going, "I heard you were on the campaign trail. How did that go?"

"It was alright I guess. It was a good learning experience, but I didn't like the traveling. Too far away from…everything."

"And here I thought you wanted to be an overseas correspondent."

She shrugged, "that was awhile ago." She glanced up at him.

"Yeah apparently so. I mean you're out jogging. I thought that was a banned activity?"

"It helped me clear my mind."

There was another awkward silence as the two pondered over the fact that two people who had known everything about the other just a year ago found to know almost nothing anymore. It was a strange and saddening situation.

"Listen A-Rory I have to go. It was nice seeing you. Maybe...we could get coffee sometime?"

"Sure Logan."

"This is weird, do you have a cell phone number?"

"It's the same Logan. It's always been the same."

With that, she jogged away, leaving him staring off after her.

It was her turn to walk away.

* * *

Logan watched as the love of his life jogged off, participating in an activity he never imagined she would do voluntarily. If anything, that last conversation had emphasized how much he didn't know her any more.

When they were together they talked about everything. She wasn't just his girlfriend; she was his best friend. She got him like no one else had, except maybe Honor of course. It was strange to realize that he didn't even know that she moved across the country-to Palo Alto no less! There she was, on her morning _jog_, just like him. It shocked him in a way. He didn't quite know what to do. Was she the same girl that had said no to him on that fateful day? Or was she someone entirely new?

He didn't know what this meeting meant. He didn't know if he was actually supposed to call her, or if he should let go. His head obviously wasn't working right, so there was only one thing left to do. Follow his heart.

* * *

"Lorelai Gilmore."

"Logan Huntzberger."

"Logan?"

"Yeah, I said I would call didn't I? And since when do you use Lorelai? Or answer your phone with your name?" His tone was less serious, more like the teasing Logan that she knew...and loved.

She couldn't help but giggle, "since a bunch of important people such as yourself started calling."

"Oh really. I'm lucky I got through then."

"So anyways what's up Logan?"

"I was wondering if...maybe you wanted to get coffee with me sometime?"

"Damn. The one thing I can't resist."

"So that hasn't changed?"

"Nope. Never has, never will."

"Good to know. So what do you say Gilmore?"

"Sure Huntz. What did you have in mind?"

"Uhhh Saturday at 11? I'll text you the address?"

"Sounds good. I'll see you then."

* * *

Her brown hair was long again, curls whipping in the crisp Autumn wind. Her blue eyes were scrunched up as she examined the newspaper in front of her, only pausing to scribble something in a notebook or take a sip of the coffee that was sitting next to her.

There she was. In the flesh. And she was gorgeous.

He smiled and walked over.

"Hey."

"Hi."

They smiled shyly at each other.

"So how have you been?"

"Okay I guess. You?"

"I've been good."

"So."

"We seem to say that a lot."

"I guess so."

"How has work been? You're in…PR?"

"It's been good," she shrugged, "I certainly never pictured myself in that field, but I have to say I don't mind it. It's growing on me."

"Do you miss journalism?"

She sighed, "yeah I do. I don't think that's ever going to change. But I still write a couple freelance pieces when I get a chance."

"Seriously? How do you have time to breathe Gilmore?"

"I have to schedule it in." She smirked at him before taking a sip of her coffee. "So what about you? I've heard a lot about this company of yours."

"All good I hope."

"Definitely all good. So spill Huntzberger."

He shrugged. "What is there to say? It's pretty great. It's hard work and long hours but it's worth it. Our numbers are good and we're getting pretty good publicity on it. Hey maybe I will even need to hire you to do my PR."

She blushed as he sent her one of those signature Huntzberger smirks she missed so much. "Oh I don't know if you should trust me with that quite yet."

"I trust you Ace."

Rory sat in shock at the sound of her nickname. She hadn't really realized just how much she had missed the sound of his voice saying that one little word. She tried in vain to compose herself again.

"What are we doing Logan?"

"We're having coffee."

"No I mean it Logan."

"What Rory? What do you want from me? You couldn't marry me and here I am trying my goddamn hardest to try and act normal. What else do you want from me?"

"You think you're the only one that got hurt? You think that this was easy for me? Because it wasn't. I didn't want this. I didn't want to break up. That was all you. You walked away Logan. Not me. You did that all on your own."

"I was hurt Rory. You said _no_."

"Yeah. I get that. You know what? Whatever we say here isn't going to change anything. It's not going to erase the last year or my answer last June, no matter how much I regret it okay?"

"You regret it?"

"I regret letting you walk away. I regretted every single day on that horrible campaign trail in those crappy motel rooms. I regretted it every night as I would glance at my cell phone, wondering if you were going to call. I regretted it every time I sat there alone, dialing your number then never pressing send. When I finished my job there I regretted every day in Stars Hollow. I would pass by all of the places we had walked through together and I regretted it even more. Then all of _this_ happened and all of the sudden I was being shipped off to the place I knew you were living. Only then did I realize that you probably moved on. Probably had a better life with some girl that wouldn't shatter your heart. So I decided that I would let you have that. So yes, I regret it."

"I regret it too Ace."

"You do?" Her voice was quiet, barely above a whisper.

"Of course I do. I love you. How could I not regret it?"

"I love you too."

They had a long way to go—that was for sure. There was much to be discussed, many arguments to be had, many tears to be shed. But there was also a lifetime of smiles, of gentle teasing, of each other. And they would get there. No doubt about it.

* * *

_Two years later..._

"Does it look okay?"

"Oh hon, you're perfect."

"Are you sure?"

"He is going to love it. You're perfect baby."

"Thanks mom."

"Okay kiddo you ready for this?"

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

Taking Lorelai's arm, she headed down a narrow aisle. She didn't notice the white rose petals on the floor or the blue ribbons all around. She didn't notice the smiling guests. In that moment, all she saw was him.

He was standing up in front of her and looking at her in a way that she had always imagined. Blue eyes met brown. Subconsciously she felt her father give her hand a reassuring squeeze as he and Lorelai handed her off to the new, or in some ways not so new, leading man in her life.

"You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my entire life." Logan lowered his mouth to her ear, whispering to her gently as he took her hand.

Turning to face the minister, they were all smiles. They had a lifetime of each other to look forward to. No regrets.

* * *

**Yeah so I thought the older version ended a bit abruptly. So I added a teensy bit. Still a one-shot though, sorry :( **


End file.
